This invention relates to a method for testing a communication network. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for testing network application's call processing and routing of network queries and responses.
In the early 1980's, centralized databases called network control points (NCP) were introduced into signaling networks by AT&T to support the credit card calling service and 800 service. The network architecture with these network control points allowed intelligent network services for providing call handling information in response to network queries.
The network control points for the 800 service, for example, are deployed throughout the United States to support the Data Base 800 Service mandated by the Federal Communication Commission. In the network architecture for such 800 service, 800-number calls are routed from a local router or end office to a network switch which launches network queries to the network control point. The network control point translates the 800 number to a plain old telephone number and returns the plain old telephone number to the network switch. The network switch subsequently routes the call to an appropriate network carrier based on this plain old telephone number.
The network control points are designed to accommodate growth and additional services other than 800 and calling card services. For example, the network control points are designed as high-capacity systems handling more than one million queries per hour. Further, modifications for additional service enhancements may be carried out without interrupting existing services by loading the new software programs into the network control points, without service interruption. In fact, alternate billing services (ABS) such as a collect calling service and a bill-to-third-number calling service have been implemented using the network control point architecture.
With an increasing number of communication services introduced into the network and increasingly sophisticated services, developing a test to insure that these network facilities with newly installed software programs function in an anticipated manner is a critically important task.
Many types of test simulators are known in order to satisfy the needs of testing a network. Most such systems employ hardware that has been programmed to emulate actions and responses of network elements. However, due to increasing complexity of the network and more sophisticated software, developing simulators with the hardware resembling the actual network has become a costly and difficult task.
Further, there are many types of test querying methods available for a network test. However, these test methods require either special processing for the test queries or additional hardware to process test queries which adds significant burden to the already complex network architecture.
Therefore, it is desirable that network testing does not require neither additional hardware nor data structures built specifically for the test query capability. It is also desirable that network elements or service processors do not need to reprogrammed to perform special application processing for the test queries.
It is also desirable that actual hardware and software of the network are tested so that problems associated with the actual routing data as well as provisioned data located in the network elements are identified.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a useful network testing method to the operations personnel to verify and troubleshoot processing and routing functions of the network applications without prompting needs for special hardware or processing.